ROCK SPRINGS — After a lengthy discussion, the Rock Springs City Council approved an amended motion allowing for malt beverage open containers at two upcoming downtown Main Street Market events.

During the Tuesday evening Council meeting, the Council reviewed the original request, which would have allowed for open containers throughout the Main Street Market’s entire season, which is from July 9 to September 10.

An amended motion was made to allow the Main Street Market to have malt beverage open containers on the South Main block from the Bank Court to C Street every Thursday from 4-7 pm beginning on July 9 and ending on July 16.

Prior to the motion being made, Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo asked the Council what it would like to do. He said they could table the issue to have more time to work on the language or they can make a motion to run this through a trial period and see how it goes. The Council chose the latter.

“I understand what the goal is, I support Chief (Dwane) Pacheco and his work to keep our community safe, but I think we can find a happy medium here somewhat,” Kaumo said.

The Discussion

“I’m not opposed to the request… It’s too broad,” Rock Springs Police Department Chief Dwane Pacheco said.

He said open container is different than malt beverages, Pacheco said. He said since there are no alcohol vendors at this event, so residents would just be bringing whatever alcoholic beverages they wanted, including spirits, beer, wine, or whatever else they wanted to.

He was also concerned about the safety of the event. He said South Main is an active street. It’s not closed, so there are pedestrians and open containers in the same area as vehicles. Plus, Square State Brewing is the only brewery in the area. He said they are not allowed to sell open containers, however, they can sell closed containers and then those who purchased the alcohol could then open it at the event.

No best practice language is included in the request either, he said this is needed to help control access to underage drinking. Best practice procedures would include, ID scanners, the use of wrist bands, and a designated controlled access area for consumption. This designated area should be flagged off and residents should only be allowed to drink malt beverages in that area.

“That’s what I would picture with this type of event,” Pacheco said. “The messaging, in my opinion, to the community is we can’t have an event without having alcohol.”

Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency Manager Chad Banks said part of the mission of the Main Street/URA is to make downtown more vibrant and lively.

“That’s why we do the Farmer’s Market,” Banks said. “It is, frankly a loss for us. It’s a loss for the city, we don’t make any money off that event.”

Banks said the whole idea wasn’t just about the Farmer’s market, but the have open containers allowed downtown, like Casper does. He said they decided to test this concept at an event.

He said the idea behind it is residents will enjoy a drink, stay in the downtown area longer, grab some dinner at one of the restaurants or do some shopping.

“One of the tricks for us is how do we get them to stay a little longer and spend money with the merchants that are downtown that are the people that we serve,” Banks said.

Councilor Billy Shalata said he still has an issue with alcohol being served at the market.

Banks said they are trying to reinvent the market to make it more successful. Other towns and cities in Wyoming are allowing alcohol at family events and they are turning into successful events.

Councilor Robb Zotti said he didn’t think allowing residents to drink at an event means it is no longer a family event. He also said he was in favor of approving the request to see how it would go. He said the city can always make changes if it doesn’t go the way they thought it should.

Banks said he would be fine with having a two-week test run to see how it goes. He was also fine with changing the language to only allow for malt beverages because it’s a starting point.

To see the entire discussion, watch the city’s YouTube video.